Post by bot on Oct 21, 2013 9:49:43 GMT -5

Australia stocks rise to fresh post-crisis highs

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks rose in early Monday trading, helped by Wall Street's gains Friday, with the S&P/ASX 200 climbing 0.8% to 5,362.40 after closing the previous session at its highest level since before the start of the 2008 financial crisis. Miners were broadly improving, as Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. rose 1.3%, BHP Billiton Ltd. added 0.9% ahead of its quarterly production report Tuesday, and Newcrest Mining Ltd. also climbed 0.9% despite a loss for gold at the end of last week. Financials saw gains as well, with many analysts now tipping the U.S. Federal Reserve to maintain its current level of easing through the end of the year. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group advanced 1.1%, while Westpac Banking Corp. and Macquarie Group Ltd. rose 1.2% each. On the downside, shares of Qantas Airways Ltd. fell 4.2% after the company warned of rough business conditions on Friday.